Jeremiah 22
1 Thus said Jehovah, 'Go down [to] the house of the king of Judah, and thou hast spoken there this word, and hast said,
This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah and give this message.
2 Hear a word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who art sitting on the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, who are coming in at these gates,
Tell them: Listen to what the Lord has to say to you, king of Judah, sitting on the throne of David, you and your officials and the people here with you.
3 Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, ye do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood ye do not shed in this place.
This is what the Lord says: Do what is fair and right. Protect those who are being unjustly treated by corrupt people. Don't do anything wrong to foreigners, orphans, or the widows. Don't use violence against them. Don't kill innocent people.
4 For, if ye certainly do this thing, Then come in by the gates of this house Have kings sitting for David on his throne, Riding on chariot, and on horses, He, and his servants, and his people.
If you will honestly do what I tell you, then kings who sit on David's throne will ride on chariots and horses with their officials through the gates of this palace. They'll be accompanied by the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.
5 And if ye do not hear these words, By myself I have sworn — an affirmation of Jehovah, That this house is for a desolation.
But if you refuse to obey what I say, then I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this palace will be turned into rubble.
6 For thus said Jehovah, Concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead [art] thou to Me — head of Lebanon, If not — I make thee a wilderness, Cities not inhabited.
This is what the Lord says about the royal family of the king of Judah: You are as dear to me as the forests on Gilead and on the mountains of Lebanon. But I will turn you into a desert, into towns where no one lives.
7 And I have separated for thee destroyers, Each with his weapons, And they have cut down the choice of thy cedars, And have cast them on the fire.
I will choose men to come and destroy you, each with their own ax. They will chop down your fine cedars and throw them in the fire.
8 And many nations have passed by this city, And they have said, each to his neighbour, For what hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?
Foreigners from many nations will pass by this city and ask each another, “Why has the Lord done such terrible things to this great city?”
9 And they have said, 'Because that they have forsaken The covenant of Jehovah their God, And bow themselves to other gods, and serve them.'
People will answer, “Because they broke the agreement of the Lord their God. They went and worshiped other gods.”
10 Ye do not weep for the dead, nor bemoan for him, Weep ye sore for the traveller, For he doth not return again, Nor hath he seen the land of his birth.
Don't weep over the king that died. Don't mourn for him. Instead weep for the king who is exiled, who will never return, who will never see his homeland again.
11 For thus said Jehovah concerning Shallum son of Josiah king of Judah, who is reigning instead of Josiah his father, who hath gone forth from this place: He doth not turn back hither again;
This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz of Josiah, king of Judah. He succeeded his father Josiah but was taken away. He will never return.
12 For in the place whither they have removed him he dieth, And this land he doth not see again.
He will die in exile; he will never see this country again.
13 Woe to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, On his neighbour he layeth service for nought, And his wage he doth not give to him.
Trouble is coming to Jehoiakim because he mistreats others in building his palace, by dealing unfairly with those constructing the upper floors. He makes his own people work for nothing—he doesn't pay them any wages.
14 Who is saying, 'I build for myself a large house, And airy upper chambers,' And he hath cut out for himself its windows, Ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
He says to himself, “I'm going to build myself a great palace, with large upper rooms.” He has windows inserted, puts in cedar panels, and paints it bright red with vermilion.
15 Dost thou reign, because thou art fretting thyself in cedar? Thy father — did he not eat and drink? Yea, he did judgment and righteousness, Then [it is] well with him.
Does it make you a king just because you have more cedar than anyone else? Your father had food and drink, didn't he? He ruled fairly and honestly, and he had a good life because of this.
16 He decided the cause of the poor and needy, Then [it is] well — is it not to know Me? An affirmation of Jehovah.
He defended the poor and those in need, and so things went well. Isn't this what knowing me really means? declares the Lord.
17 But thine eyes and thy heart are not, Except on thy dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.
But all you're looking for, all you think about, is getting whatever you want, however dishonestly. You kill the innocent, you violently mistreat and exploit your people.
18 Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour.
So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah: They won't mourn for him, saying: “How sad, my brother! How sad my sister!” They won't mourn for him, saying: “How sad, my lord! How sad, his majesty!”
19 The burial of an ass — he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.
His burial will be that of a donkey. He'll be dragged off and thrown away outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry, And in Bashan give forth thy voice, And cry from Abarim, For destroyed have been all loving thee.
Go to Lebanon and cry for help! Shout in Bashan! Scream from Abarim! For all your lovers have been destroyed.
21 I have spoken unto thee in thine ease, Thou hast said, 'I do not hearken,' This [is] thy way from thy youth, For thou hast not hearkened to My voice.
I warned you when you thought you were safe and sound. But you replied, “I'm not going to listen!” That's been your attitude since you were young—you never did what I told you.
22 All thy friends consume doth wind, And thy lovers into captivity do go, Surely then thou art ashamed, And hast blushed for all thy wickedness.
The wind will blow away all your “shepherds,” and your lovers will go into exile. Then you will be shamed and disgraced because of all the evil things you've done.
23 O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious hast thou been when pangs come to thee, Pain — as of a travailing woman.
You who live in “Lebanon” in your cedar nest, how much you're going to groan when agonizing pains hit you like a woman in labor.
24 I live — an affirmation of Jehovah, Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah Were a seal on My right hand, Surely thence I draw thee away,
The Lord said to Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah: As I live, declares the Lord, even if you were a signet ring on a finger of my right hand, I would pull you off.
25 And I have given thee into the hand of those seeking thy life, And into hands of which thou art afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.
I'm going to hand you over to those who terrify you and who want to kill you, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the Babylonians.
26 And I have cast thee, And thy mother who bore thee, unto another country, Where ye were not born, and there do ye die.
I'm going to throw you out—you and the mother who gave birth to you—sending you to another country. Neither of you were born there, but both of you will die there.
27 And to the land whither they are lifting up their soul to return, Thither they do not return.
You won't ever return to the country you love so much.
28 A grief — a despised broken thing — is this man Coniah? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Wherefore have they been cast up and down, He and his seed, Yea, they were cast on to a land that they knew not?
Who is this man Jehoiachin? A broken pot that's been thrown away, something nobody wants? Why has he and his children been thrown out, exiled in an unfamiliar country?
29 Earth, earth, earth, hear a word of Jehovah,
My country, my country, my country! Listen to what the Lord has to say!
30 Thus said Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man — he doth not prosper in his days, For none of his seed doth prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling again in Judah!
This is what the Lord says: Put this man down as having no children. He's a man who won't ever be successful in his whole life. None of his children will ever be successful either. None of them will sit on David's throne or be king in Judah.
